COMPANY MEETING

ZINC CORPORATION

VISCOUNT HORNE ON POSITION AND OUTLOOK

THE twenty-seventh ordinary general meeting of the Zinc Corpor- ation, Limited, was held on June 22nd, at zo Aldermanbury, London, E.C.

The Rt. Hon. Viscount Horne of Slamannan, P.C., G.B.E. (Chairman of the Company), in the course of his speech, said : In many ways 1937 was for us a bumper year. Record mine output, record mill recoveries, high prices for products and substantially increased profits were its main features.

The Corporation's total revenue from mining, smelting and refining, plus investments, interest, &c., was £1,830,841 against £1,286,212 in the previous year. A participating dividend of 4s. 6d. per share will be paid on July 1st next. The balance-sheet reflects a thor- oughly sound and satisfactory position. •

OPERATIONS

The development of the lead lode has again been attended by satisfactory results. On the testimony of your managing director, who has recently arrived from Australia, your mine never looked better than it does today. The high recoveries of metals in the mill recorded in r937 have been more than maintained in 1938, and a further improvement has been made in the grade of the lead concentrate.

We have agreed a basis and most of the details for a joint working arrangement with the New Broken Hill Consolidated Company. Under this agreement the two mines will be served by the new main or Freeman shaft now being sunk on our lease, and the ore from both will be treated in one mill. The scheme is now in provisional operation and we have recovered from New Broken Hill Consolidated a payment of Ltoo,000 on account of expenditure incurred.

Our output is still increasing. Provided that there are no unfore- seen stoppages, the production for 1938 should exceed 400,000 tons of ore. When the new main shaft is completed and in full operation the output will be further increased, if market conditions then justify this being done.

ZINC CONCENTRATES

Last year we produced about 63,900 tons of zinc concentrates or slightly less than in the previous 12 months. These concentrates contain about 53i per cent. zinc—very close to the theoretical maximum for our type of ore—and are in part sold for treatment in Australia and, in part, for treatment in the United Kingdom. This division of our production dates back to the Great War and the policy then laid down by the British and Australian Governments. This policy aimed at supporting a domestic zinc smelting industry in the United Kingdom as well as in Australia and to the extent that zinc concentrates were smelted in England it naturally placed a restriction on the extension of treatment works in Australia.

The policy has been loyally supported by the big concentrate pro- ducers in Australia though there have been periods when it would have been substantially more profitable to extend the treatment- works in Australia than to continue to ship to this country. Recently there has been a serious deterioration in the position of the zinc- smelting industry in the United Kingdom which, apart from the effects of the collapse in metal prices, has found itself in the imposs- ible position of being left to carry on a heavy industry—a great labour, coal and transport user—in a protectionist country without reasonable protection for itself.

METAL PRICES

While the prices of metals during 1937 were-eminently satisfactory, I regret to say that the markets up to date this year have been definitely adverse. Compared with the average for 1937 the first 5 months of the year showed a decline of £7 15s. 9d. in the price of lead, and £8 4s. 6d. in the price of spelter. The declines have been greatest during the past few weeks, although there has been a modest upturn in the last 48 hours and current prices until ye3terday have been nearly £'o per ton less for lead and zinc than the averages for 1937. The price of silver also is about 'Id. per oz. lower. Declines of this magnitude have a grave effect on our revenues. Fortunately there are possibilities of some improvement. Reasonable co-operation amongst producers on the one hand and the overdue expansion in demands from consumers on the other would quickly be reflected in better prices.

As to the outlook, if we could but remove the effect of fear from the markets—in Europe the fears of war and of more deflation and in the United States the fear of political repression of industry —I am confident that all markets would enjoy a healthy recovery.

You have a great mine, well equipped and efficiently managed, a substantial interest in the adjoining property of New Broken Hill Consolidated, which promises to develop into a profitable producer ; large interests in lead smelting refining works and investments of importance in metal manufacturing and the like. Given reasonable

-ices for metals you need have no fears as to the prospects of your

-epott was unanimously adopted.